The Hearts Burlesque
by Goodnight Sweet Ladies
Summary: Sora's been down and depressed lately, so his darling friends decide to take him out for some fun, where he sees the most beautiful sight he could have imagined. The blonde haired, blue eyed boy on stage was mesmerizing. Sora simply had to know more...
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**Ok, this is my first ever story, so don't expect much. I welcome ALL suggestions regarding characters, plot, whatever. It'll all be taken on board. :)

I apologise if some characters act a little out of character. I think it'll help with the atmosphere of the story if you **play the songs along with the appropriate parts. **The **first song in this chapter is "Welcome to Burlesque" by Cher and the second is "Express" by Christina Aguilera.** This story will have a few songs dispersed throughout it by the way, but there won't be one in every chapter. I'll only be including them when it makes sense. They won't just be randomly bursting out into song, so don't worry. Now, please enjoy. If this is well received, I'll write more for it.

**I OWN NOTHING!** The songs in the first chapter are from the soundtrack to the Christina Aguilera/Cher movie Burlesque. Names and details of future songs will be posted at the start of the chapter they are found in. Again, I claim ownership of NOTHING! Well, the plot I guess is kinda mine, but other then that, NOTHING!

**Hearts**** Burlesque**

**Sora's P****.O.V.**

I knew I should have run. I never should have gone along with this. No matter how annoying my friends had been, I should have run, and I should have run far. Don't get me wrong here, I love my friends, but sometimes, they were major assholes. This was one of those times.

I should probably fill you in a little. My name is Sora Leonheart. I'm seventeen and have recently been dumped by my girlfriend Kairi, who then got together with my "best friend" Riku. Now they're madly in love and all over each other every moment of the day. I can't stand being around them anymore, and my other friends have decided I've been much too "moopy" lately…. Yuffie never made much sense… So now here I am, standing in the cold with my "awesome" friends Yuffie, Rikku, Yuna, Pain, Hayner, Pence, Olette, Riku and Kairi, Namine, Snow Villiars and his own big brother Leon. The reason we're all standing in the cold waiting in line? My friends had decided I needed to get out and have fun, so now, they're bringing me to some burlesque club to see women who might as well be naked dance around a stage. How wonderfully awkward. I hate this plan, and I let them know. Unfortunately, they had Leon and Snow literally carry me here, so I didn't exactly get any choice what so ever.

When we finally got in I was so relieved that it was so warn in this place. Thank god I was out of the snow. Hayner led us to a large booth like thing, right at the edge of what looked like some form of runway, jutting out from what I assumed was the stage, hidden by large curtains. The room looked so elegant, soft red carpets, beautiful designs on the wallpaper, the lush red curtains covering the stage, it all looked so beautiful! Hayner seemed far too excited to be here… horny bastard. They were all chatting animatedly about how great this show was meant to be. Why the fuck would they bring me here? I was utterly mortified. And that's when Hayner leans over, great.

"Sora, man, chill the fuck out. This show is meant to be really fucking hot! What's the problem?" But before I could even answer the boy, the lights went down and the room went silent.

**Normal P.O.V.**

A man stepped out onto the stage. He held a microphone and addressed the crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of ages where it is acceptable to loose all traces of innocence, welcome. My name is Ansem, owner of the Hearts Burlesque and I would like to ask that you all sit back, forget your worries, and let my gorgeous "dancers" entertain you this fine evening. Enjoy the show."

And with that he left the stage. _Why the fuck did he say "dancers" like that? _Sora thought to himself, becoming more and more suspicious of the place._ This was just a show right? Oh god, please tell me that asshole Hayner hasn't dragged me into some fucked up whore house… _

That's when the lights went even dimmer around the room and the curtains opened dramatically as the band started playing. The stage was dark. All that could be seen was the silhouette of a figure sitting in a chair in the middle of the stage. Girls started dancing around the stage, around the figure in the chair. Gradually the lights were getting brighter around the mystery figure, until they raised a microphone to their lips. The music changed now, it seemed to be playing the intro to a song. I recognised the song, I think it was something by Cher… Then the mystery person began to sing.

"Show a little more,

Show a little less,

Add a little smoke,

Welcome to Burlesque"

_Wait…. Was that a guy?_ The lights went up fully around him. _Holy shit! It is a guy! And by god was he gorgeous. Wait, did I just say a GUY was gorgeous? What the fuck is going on here?_ Sora couldn't take his eyes off this guy. He had the most beautiful voice he had ever heard. And all he was wearing was a very tight tank top and some tight little trousers. His golden blonde hair shimmered in the lights and his eyes, _holy shit his eyes!_ They were the most perfect shade of sky blue he had ever seen. Sora couldn't even glance away from him as he moved towards the little runway we were seated next to.

"Everything you dream of,  
But never can possess,  
Nothing's what it seems,  
Welcome to Burlesque."

This Adonis continued down the runway, grinding suggestively with some of the other dancers, male and female, as he moved. He stopped right next to their table, looking into the crowd as he let the words flow from his mouth like sweet honey. That's when his tank top was quickly lost, and an unnecessarily loud wolf whistle from Rikku drew his attention to their table. His breath taking eyes caught Sora's, but the brunette couldn't look away. The blonde smirked right at him, eyes smoldering in the sexiest way he could possibly imagine. He stepped down off the stage, and to Sora's sheer horror, stepped right up to their table, straight across from him. He never broke eye contact with Sora, leaned in across the table and sang the next few lines, his face inches from Sora's,

"Everything you dream of,  
But never can possess,  
Nothing's what it seems,  
Welcome to Burlesque."

The brunette couldn't even attempt to hide his blush. This boy was even more stunning up close, he could barely breathe. Then he did something that nearly caused Sora to have a massive heart failure right there on the spot. He sat up onto the table and lay back, so he was stretched across the width of the table on his back, his head practically resting in Sora's lap looking right up at him. The rest of the song went by in a blur, and the two never broke eye contact the whole way through. Sora was incapable of any form of movement, while the boy writhed around in front of him on the table. Sora had never been hornier in his entire life. _ What the fuck was this guy doing to me?_ Sora wondered in a panic. He only noticed the song was finishing when The blonde sat up and leaned back so the back of his head rested in the crook of Sora's neck, and he belted out the final few lines.

"Show a little more,  
Show a little less,  
Add a little smoke,  
Welcome to Burlesque."

_Wow. He has one powerful voice… he's amazing! Wait, what the fuck is this kid doing now…?_ He walked around the table and started to pull Sora out of his seat. The brunette wanted to say no, he wanted to fight it, but he just couldn't. the blonde lead him away, still totally speechless. All his "friends" started cheering and wolf whistling as this boy lead him up onto the stage. Before he even realized what was happening he had him in the chair from the start of the show. Now Sora was panicking. _Why the fuck would I let him bring me up here? What in the name of all that is good was going on with me tonight? _

During his panicking, the boy had fitted a head-set microphone, to replace the hand held one he had been using before. _What is he gonna do with me?_

"I'd like everyone in the house tonight to welcome my lovely assistant to the stage!"

_Oh no… What was he doing?_ The place erupted with roars, cheers and whistles. _This was gonna be bad for me._ "What's your name sweety? Or should I just call you Chocolate?" He asked Sora and giggled in a way that just made him melt. He couldn't even speak, He tried to answer him, but he just couldn't. The boy leaned in over the chair in an overly suggestive manner, speaking right into my ear,

"Aww don't be shy baby, I just wanna know your name?"

Sora was sweating now… he was so close, the brunette could feel every breath, he could feel his lips move against his ear. He handed Sora the microphone and he barely managed to choke out,

"Sora" before his throat closed up again.

"Sora, huh? I could see myself screaming that."

He said with a wink. The crowd exploded yet again_. Did he really just say that? This is just an act right? _

The music started again and he started to sing again. He faced away from Sora, into the crown, but hoisted one of his legs up so his foot was standing the brunettes my thigh,

"It's a cold and crazy world  
That's raging outside  
But baby, me and all my girls  
Are bringin' on the fire  
Show a little leg"

One of the dancers came over and ripped his trousers off, revealing some very, VERY tight little underwear. Sora nearly died. His body was the embodiment of bliss. He was perfect.

"Gotta shimmy your chest  
It's a life, it's a style, it's need  
Is burlesque "

He strutted down the stage to the runway, his hips swaying in an anything but innocent way. He kept looking over his shoulder to check if Sora was watching him, or the dancers who had taken to dancing around the brunette. Of course there was no need to check, Sora couldn't take his eyes off of him. That caused his smirk to grow even wider, and when it came time for the chorus he had dropped to his hands and knees.

"E-X-P-R-E-S-S  
Love  
Sex  
Ladies no regrets"

He crawled all the way back to Sora on his hands and knees, looking right into his eyes the entire way. He reached the brunette and kneeled right between his legs and without any hesitation, ripped his nice button up shirt open. He ran his tongue from Sora's belt to his neck, only removing it to repeat the chorus,

"E-X-P-R-E-S-S  
Love  
Sex  
Ladies no regrets"

From then on was mostly a blur for Sora. The blonde at some stage of the song ended up sitting in his lap and doing some form of lap-dance while he sang, which had Sora right on the edge, he was about to explode any minute, when the song finally ended.

The boy adjusted himself in Sora's lap so his back was leaning against Sora's now bare chest. He giggled again, making Sora melt, yet again.

"Ladies and gentlemen, a round of applause for my lovely Sora here!"

The crowd went wild, and the blonde finally released Sora, who after awkwardly trying to avoid eye contact with the blonde boy, hurried back to his seat. He was greeted by all the girls acting like fangirls, screaming over what had just happened, but he didn't care. He couldn't stop thinking of that boy! His eyes were glued to him for the rest of the show. He couldn't look away. When the show ended, Sora couldn't bear to leave. Not yet. He had to talk to that blonde. He had no idea what had come over him, but he was infatuated by this boy. He simply would not leave without knowing his name, at the very least.

Soar waited for everyone to leave, but after everyone else had gone, Hayner made no move to leave.

"You not going home tonight Sora?" he asked, with that knowing smirk he always wore when he knew someone was up to something. Usually Sora loved and admired Hayner's seemingly unique ability to read just about anyone like an open book, but right now he was cursing his blonde friend.

"Ugh… Well, see I was just waiting for… Ahh…"

_Fuck….. What the fuck am I meant to say? I'm waiting for that gorgeous blonde who spent the night either dry humping me or throwing eyes at me?_

"You're waiting to see if that dancer guy comes out aren't you?"

Sora froze, scratching his head nervously. He knew Hayner had him now.

_There's that fucking smirk again. I'm gonna hit him. Why must he taunt me about this?_ Sora thought to himself. It sounded pathetic even in his own mind.

"You know he probably has a dressing room inside backstage, right?"

Sora was gob-smacked. Was Hayner seriously suggesting he go in and sneak backstage to look for the pale boy? He just had to ask him. He couldn't possibly be serious, right?

"Are you saying I should sneak back there just to look for him? I'd be caught and thrown out for sure!"

"So it IS him you're waiting for!" _shit…. He got me there…._

"Ah don't look so depressed Sora, we both knew what you were waiting for. You think I didn't see the way you've been drooling over him all night?" Hayner replies with a chuckle. Sora made some form of a "hmmph" noise, purely to show how disgruntles he was to be told he was actually drooling. He thought he had managed to hold onto some shred of dignity or self control. Obviously he was wrong.

"Fine, whatever, I was waiting for him. I wanna at least know his name!"

_That smug little smirk better go away pretty damn quick… I'm already blushing like a lunatic! What more does he fucking want?_

"Alright Sora, I'll help you get back there. I'll even play lookout for you when we find him. Happy?"

Honestly, Sora was elated, but he definitely was not going to let Hayner know that.

"Huh… Fine, fine whatever. But hurry up. This is gonna be quick."

Hayner led his blushing brunette buddy inside and quickly set about looking for a way backstage. After the way Sora was gawking at that guy, the girls had made him promise to help them get the two together, and there was no way he was going back on a promise to those girls….

As he was lead through the building by Hayner, Sora couldn't help but notice the exact thing he was hoping not to see. "Private rooms." Great. Hayner HAD dragged him to some whore house. _But…. Does that mean the blonde boy is one too…. _


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's note:_ Thanks for the reviews on the first chapter. In this one I've managed to squeeze in a little bit of dialogue. I hope people like this chapter. It's very different compared to the first one. Roxas is seen in a very different light in this one. There is a bit of character development here too hopefully. Really, this chapters main function is to set up the drama for future chapters, and set up the meeting between Roxas and Sora in the chapter that will follow this one.

**Shino159:** Yes the songs from the first chapter are from a movie. It's actually called Burlesque, thus, the songs kinda fit my plot perfectly there for that chapter. It stars Cher and Christina Aguilera. I havn't seen the movie, I just got the soundtrack :P

**Chapter 2**

_He found it. The bastard actually found it._Sora thought to him self. He was starting to have major doubts about meeting his mystery singer from earlier, but here he was, standing facing a dressing room. Hayner assured him it belonged to the boy. Sora didn't even want to know how his friend got that information.

"Okay Sora, this is the place. I'm sure of it. Don't worry, you'll be fine. I'll go keep lookout for you till you're done."

And with that he pushed the brunette towards the door and ran off around the corner or the narrow hallway to keep guard.

_Oh great, just leave me here…. What the fuck am I even meant to say to him? Shit, I'm sweating. Why am I so nervous? Oh well, I didn't come all this way for nothing…_

Sora inched closer to the door, noticing that it was slightly ajar. He could here voices from inside. One was silky, smooth and unimaginably melodic. He was certain that was the blonde beauty from earlier. The other was gruff and sounded like it was suffering after years of smoke damage and abuse.

_Oh, they both sound really mad…. I should probably go…_

But before the eavesdropping brunette could move away he heard a crash from inside the room. He peeked in the slight gap between the door and the frame. He saw what looked like a vodka bottle smashed all over the floor of the small dressing room.

_Holy shit! Whoever threw that is fucking strong!_

The next image he saw frightened him. The blue eyed boy from the show was backed up against a dressing table, back to a large mirror with a look of anger and determination plastered across his delicate features. Despite the obvious anger on the boys face, Sora couldn't ignore the traces of fear in his eyes. And there was no doubt in the brunettes mind as to why the boy was afraid either. Towering over him, was a tall man, face contorted in rage and hair a flaming red. He could not have looked more threatening. He was screaming right in the blonde's face, his piercing green eyes glaring right into the shimmering blues of the smaller boy. He had another vodka bottle in his hand, and Sora was afraid that this one wouldn't be wasted on the wall. He couldn't figure out if it was a good or bad thing that the bottle was empty though.

"What the FUCK were you doing up there! What the fuck was all that! When did I tell you, you could act like a fucking whore? Answer me you little shit! When the fuck did I tell you that you could dry hump some little shithead on that stage?"

The red head bellowed, mere inches from the blonde's face. No answer. The smaller just stared straight ahead.

"I asked you a fucking question, now answer me! Or has all the sense been fucked out of you at this stage? Answer me or I swear to god, you'll get a punishment you'll never forget!"

That's when there was a spark in the blondes eye, and whatever traces of fear were there before were long gone.

"Punishment? Who the fuck do you think you are? You don't fucking own me, now get the fuck out of my face!"

The smaller was clearly infuriated. He even advanced slightly in an attempt to make the taller man back off. Unfortunately, the man was either too enraged or too drunk to take much notice.

"You think I don't own you? I got you off the fucking streets and this is how you repay me you little prick? You know as well as I do that I own everything you are! I fucking own you Roxas, and there's fuck all you can do about it!"

In his rage he punched the mirror behind the blonde with such force it shattered, but the boy didn't even flinch. The red haired man withdrew his now bleeding fist from the mirror and turned around. He was about to walk away from the boy named Roxas, when suddenly he swung around and caught the boy with a backhand right to the side of the jaw. Roxas was knocked back into the shattered mirror and stumbled to the floor. He was conscious, but he stayed down on his hands and knees. All anger was gone from his expression. In fact, Sora noticed that he was totally expressionless. All emotion had suddenly left the blonde.

_I've never seen someone look so broken….._

Suddenly the door swung open in front of Sora.

"Who the fuck are you? Get out of my fucking way, you little cuntshit!"

The last thing Sora saw was the man with the flaming red hair. He felt the hard glass collide with his skull, and then the darkness overtook him.

**Roxas P.O.V.**

He hit me….. He actually hit me…. Why do I sound surprised? It's hardly the first time. But this time was different. He wasn't drunk this time. I mean yeah, sure, he'd been drinking, but he was far from drunk. He meant to hit me this time. He meant to hurt me this time. How did we end up like this? It all started with Xion. I wish she was still here… But she's better off now. I'm glad she doesn't have to see him like this anymore.

Normal P.O.V.

Roxas heard a pained groan from outside. He slowly walked over and opened the door Axel had slammed after himself. There was a tanned boy lying on the floor outside his door, with the shattered remnants of a vodka bottle surrounding him.

_Holy shit, that's the guy__ from the show. Oh god, his head! He's bleeding! Axel the cunt, he must have hit him. Is he conscious?_

Sora's eyes fluttered open and closed briefly. He saw a blurred shape of gold and blue.

"Ahh…. Don't die…" were the only words he heard before his eyes slid shut once again.

"That's real encouraging…."


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors Note: **

**WARNING: **This chapter contains scenes that may be viewed as distressing by some easily upset people. It's not graphic or anything, but I felt I should let ye know just in case it upset anyone.

Reviews are always appreciated, but it's more important that you enjoy the story. Again, **any suggestions are welcome**, whether they regard writing style, plot, characters, whatever.

In case I didn't say before, this **is a crossover with Final Fantasy XIII. **That is where the character Hope Estheim comes from.

**Chapter 3**

**Hayner P.O.V.**

What in god's name is taking Sora this long? Oh he better not have pussied out… Nah he wouldn't. He's a really outgoing guy. Oh shit, he IS really outgoing….. Oh no… He's probably fucking the guy isn't he? Ugh, I could be here a while….

**Normal P.O.V.**

Hayners thoughts were however cut short before he could go into further detail as to what his tanned friend could be doing, by a tall flame haired man roughly shoving him out of the way. He was about to yell at this guy, and give him a piece of his mind, but he noticed the mans hand was bleeding pretty badly.

_There is no way that guy got into the dressing room past me, this is the only way in__. He must have been in there this whole time. How the fuck is his hand bleeding…? What the fuck is going on in that room? Shit! Sora's still in there!_

Hayner quickly rounded the corner and bolted towards the room. He stopped dead, nearly falling on his face when he arrived at the door. Sora was lying in a pool of blood. He seemed unconscious. That guy from the show was trying to lift him, but he was struggling.

"What the fuck happened here?"

Hayner demanded, hurrying over to his friends side, a mixture between concern and anger etched onto his face.

"It's a long story, okay, can we go through it when he's inside and I've stopped the bleeding? You know, when he's not fucking bleeding to death?"

Roxas retorted in a very sarcastic, yet matter of fact way.

"Yeah, fine, whatever, help me carry him in."

It was only after they had hoisted Sora up onto their shoulders and carried him in that Hayner realised there was something wrong with the other blonde boy. He noticed that he struggled to carry Sora, even with help. His concerns were justified. The other blonde instantly set about ripping off one of his sleeves and wrapping it tightly around the wound near Sora's hairline, an attempt at a make-shift bandage. He had obviously done this before. While he was tightening the bandage, Hayner noticed a fairly large gash on the blue eyes boy's back.

"Ok, I think I've stopped the bleeding. Hopefully he'll wake up soon and we can see if he's ok."

This boy didn't seem to even notice the blood that was soaking the back of his shirt.

"Dude, you do know you're bleeding too don't you?"

Hayner just had to ask. He had a habit of not thinking before he spoke. Besides, he didn't want the guy just passing out. He'd helped Sora, so he was ok in Hayner's books for now.

"My mouth? Yeah, forget it, it's nothing. Just a scratch. I'll live."

_Okay…. He really doesn't notice the cut on his back…. Maybe he's in shock or something? His hands are shaking and he's sweating. And what the fuck is with his expression…. It's so…. Emotionless? Like, there's nothing going on inside him. As if he's hollow._

"No man, not your face, your back. It's a pretty deep cut too. Sora's fine for now. Let me take care of it for you. You got anything I can use to make a bandage?"

The guy looked fairly shocked that he hadn't even noticed the wound on his back, but he was made well aware of it by the pain that ripped through his body as he took off this shirt to let the taller boy make a bandage with it.

"Use that. It's fine."

Hayner set about wrapping the material around the smaller boy to stop his bleeding. He decided he should probably introduce himself as he worked. He might be able to find out what the hell happened while he was at it.

_Better then sitting here in silence with him facing away from me while I try and tie this around the cut anyway._

"Name's Hayner by the way. That there is Sora, in case he didn't tell you himself."

"I'm Roxas. Thanks for the help by the way."

"No problem. Mind telling me what the fuck happened here by the way? Kinda worried about how my pal over there acquired a fairly large gash to the head and was found unconscious…"

As Hayner continued taking care of his back, Roxas explained what had happened between him and Axel. The physical side of it at least. He wasn't nearly comfortable enough to go into any detail about the reasoning behind the encounter.

"I guess Sora was outside for some reason. After Axel left he must have gotten in the way, so he smashed him with the bottle. I'm very sorry, if I hadn't been so caught up in what happened I might have noticed sooner, I might have been able to stop it….."

"Roxas, don't sweat it. You've had a rough time here tonight. I don't blame you or anything. Besides, you seem to have him patched up pretty good."

What Hayner didn't mention was he suspected that this wasn't Roxas' first tough time. He had a bad feeling the smaller boy was so good at patching up wounds because he had plenty experience thanks to this Axel guy.

Hayner was nervous around Roxas. He wouldn't lie to himself about that. He felt a little uneasy around the guy. Once he had the bandages secured he and Roxas sat and talked for a while. They talked for an hour, waiting for Sora to wake up. Hayner had always prided himself on being able to read anyone, cause people were just so easy for him. Not Roxas. They talked for an hour, and he still had no clue about the guy. He had no idea about what made this guy tick. He seemed unreadable. That scared Hayner. He had no idea what Roxas was like, or what he would do. He was just unpredictable.

Despite all this however, he found he got on pretty well with Roxas. He was secretive, and never gave out more information about himself then was absolutely necessary, but he seemed to be a nice guy.

Eventually, Sora began to stir. When he woke up, it wasn't long before he noticed the bloody material fashioned into a bandage around his forehead. Roxas explained what had happened quickly and then became silent as Hayner asked Sora a million questions, trying to check if he was really ok. Eventually, he decided he should go call Sora's brother Leon and fill him in on what happened. He already had about 17 voice messages and 30 texts from him wondering why Sora wasn't home yet.

Hayner left to go make the call, leaving Sora and Roxas alone. There was a brief silence, during which Roxas checked Sora's bandages again. The close proximity between them made Sora blush. When Roxas noticed this, he blushed himself.

"How're you feeling? It looks like you took a pretty hard knock to the head there?"

Sora was startled by the sudden question, but quickly assured the blonde that he felt fine. It was still painful, but it was bearable.

Sora didn't want to pry into the other boys business, but he simply had to ask about this Axel guy.

"Hey Roxas…. What's the deal with that Axel? Why did he hit you like that?"

"Well….. He…. He drinks, and he's going through stuff right now. He never used to be like this, but for the last two years he's been a little unstable…."

"Does he always hit you?"

"N-Not always….. Besides, I can take care of myself. Don't worry about me."

Sora wasn't at all convinced, but he just went along with it for Roxas.

Soon Hayner returned and told them that Leon would be there in a few minutes to take him and Sora home. Sora felt bad leaving Roxas here alone after what they had both just been through. He couldn't leave him alone. Not now. They'd only been talking a little while, but he liked the blonde boy. He seemed like a good guy.

"Hey Rox, wanna come back home with us? I don't wanna leave you alone after what happened here tonight…"

Roxas was slightly taken aback by the offer. He wasn't used to people being so nice to him or trusting him enough to invite him into their home after knowing him for such a short time.

"Oh, well, that's nice of you, and thanks, but I really can't. I should really be getting home to my brother."

Suddenly Roxas looked panicked. Very panicked…

"SHIT what time is it? Oh my god I'm really late, aren't I?"

He seemed to be asking noone in particular, he already knew he was late for whatever he had to do. His sudden state of panic worried Hayner and Sora. Hayner voiced these concerns pretty quickly.

"Late for what? You okay Roxas?"

"No! My brother! He's home alone! He's not meant to be left alone!"

Roxas was on the verge of tears at this stage. He was utterly terrified, and even he couldn't hide it from the other two.

"Why can't he be left alone? Roxas? Where do you live? My brother will drive us there."

"Could he? Really? Oh god thank you Sora! But we have to go FAST! Like, as fast as he possibly can. Hope isn't meant t be home without me."

In a matter of minutes the three boys were outside climbing into Leon's car, Roxas telling them his address, all the while shaking with worry with silent tears pouring from his eyes at an uncontrollable rate. He couldn't even manage to respond to Sora and Hayner, desperately trying to calm him and find out what was going on.

As soon as they pulled up to the house Roxas leapt from the car and dashed inside. The three in the car followed in behind him, still wondering what had the blonde in such a state.

"HOPE? Hope where are you?"

Roxas bellowed to the house in general. No reply. There was only eerie silence and cold to greet them.

"Fuck. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!"

Roxas chanted non stop as he quickly moved further into the dark, cold little house.

A faint coppery smell met them as they neared the back rooms of the house. Roxas burst through a door and instantly the other boys knew what the smell was. Blood. In the middle of the room they saw a boy. He couldn't have been much younger then Roxas. Maybe a year or so. His hair was a slightly paler shade of blonde but other then that he looked fairly similar to Roxas. What was distressing about the scene was that he was lying in a pool of his own blood, a carving knife lay on the blood soaked floor near his hand. His wrists were sliced. Badly. Roxas was in hysterics. He was desperately trying to dial for an ambulance, choking back gut wrenching sobs. After a few seconds he threw the phone to Sora, silently asking him to call for help, and fell to his knees next to his unconscious brother. He cradled Hope In his arms as Hayner and Sora tried to bandage his arms to slow the bleeding until help arrived. Leon was on the phone giving the ambulance the address and filling them in on the situation.

By the time the ambulance arrived, Hope's pulse was very weak. He had lost a lot of blood. Roxas had stopped crying. He was simply staring blankly at his little brother's face. Totally emotionless. When they took Hope in the ambulance to rush to the hospital, Sora joined Roxas in the back with the unconscious boy. Leon and Hayner followed in the car.

Sora had no idea that when he went backstage to try and meat the blonde that he would get caught up in this kind of drama. All he knew now was that he was in, and he couldn't abandon his new friend Roxas now, when he clearly needed support. The whole ride to the hospital he held the pale blonde close and let him sob into his chest. He stared at the younger boy, unconscious, pale, barely alive. He knew then that Roxas needed help with more then just Axel. For the second time that night he heard those words,

"Please… Don't die….."

Nobody should have to say those words twice in one night.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sora****'s P.O.V.**

When we arrived at the hospital, the doctors told us Hopes injuries were as bad as we feared, if not worse. I didn't know what they were doing with him, but he'd been unconscious for a week now. Roxas had been with him the whole time. He refused to leave. I'd been with him the entire time too. My parents tried to make me come home, but I just couldn't leave Roxas here on his own, to deal with this. Eventually they gave in. Roxas and I had gotten pretty close over the week. I suppose that'll happen when you live in such close proximity with a person with noone else there to talk to most of the time. He actually opened up to me a lot that week, I guess helping him with Hope and being here for him really did mean something to him. Well, I know I'm right. He's thanked me constantly and told me how much he appreciated everything. Always makes me blush when he does. Yeah, as I was saying, he's opened up a lot.

He told me about his family. It's just him and Hope now. When he was young, his dad used to beat them. Bad. Apparently, Hope's no stranger to the hospital. Roxas had been hospitalised more then his fair share of times too. That scared me, but what was worse was what he told me about his mother. When his dad would grab some random object from around the house and start beating them until they bled, she'd sit in her armchair, glass of scotch in hand and watch with a blank emotionless face. I think I learned where Roxas got that habit of going into that emotionless trance whenever something bad happened. He said he did that a lot when he was being beaten. He was just numb.

_What kind of parents could treat their kids like that?_

Then one day, when Roxas was twelve, he'd had enough. His dad went after Hope. The beating was even worse then usual. Roxas snapped. He finally fought back against his dad, beating him off of Hope. The man said nothing. He looked at the blonde, and walked out. He never came home that night. The next day, in the hospital with Hope, his mother told them their father was dead. They later found out he had gone out and gotten pissed that night. He tried to drive home, but crashed his car into a wall and died. Shortly after that, their mother left. No explanation, nothing. They woke up one morning, roughly a week later, and she was gone.

Hope slipped further into depression, with both parents gone. Roxas couldn't keep up with the rent, and they became homeless. After some time on the streets, Roxas started to sell his body, to buy food and keep them in a small, horrible motel room. He did everything he could to take care of his little brother, but he hated himself for what he had to do. Eventually, he met Axel. He picked Roxas up for his friend, Demyx or something. Axel knew Roxas was gorgeous, so he suggested that he try out for a place as a dancer at The Hearts Burlesque, a burlesque club in the city that was owned by a friend of his. Roxas decided, for Hope, he'd audition. He figured the money might get them some decent food and a better place to stay. When he auditioned, they asked him to sing, and they were not disappointed. They were absolutely blown away. Instantly, Ansem made him the star of the show.

Roxas used his paycheck each week to rent the house I had visited briefly a week ago. They befriended a young woman named Lightning, who lived about a ten minute walk away. While Roxas was out working, she watched Hope, to try and avoid self harming incidents. His depression was very severe. Roxas used what little money he had left after rent, food and bills to pay for his anti-depression medication, but sometimes the younger blonde would still slip into depressions murky depths.

I wanted to do whatever I could to help Roxas. I know, I've only known him for a week, but I care about him. A lot. Way more then I'd expected…. Yeah, that little crush I'd had on him in the burlesque club has definitely not gone away. If anything it's gotten worse. But I'm here to be a friend to him. That's what he needs now. I'm still surprised how much he's opened up to me. He seems to trust me more then most other people, which I'm kinda happy about. I like that he trusts me.

He now trusts me enough to leave me alone with Hope while he took a quick shower in the en-suit bathroom in this cramped little hospital room. That's where I find myself now actually. It gets pretty boring when he leaves. Not exactly much to do in a little hospital room.

"uhhh…"

_What the fuck was that? Am I hearing thigs?_

"Rox…..?"

_Shit! It's Hope! He's awake and Roxas is still in the shower! Say something to him you moron, he's barely conscious and thinks you're his brother!_

"Umm… Sorry Hope, Roxas is in the shower… I'm Sora. A friend of Roxas. How're you feeling? Are you in pain? Want me to get him? Do you want a doctor? Pain medication? Anything?"

"Sora, calm down, please. I'm ok, just drowsy and stuff…. Is Roxas ok? He hates it when I do this kinda thing….."

_He looks so upset…. Well, Roxas said they were very close, and he obviously knows he really scared his brother…_

"Well….. He wasn't good when we found you. Something held him up at work, and I got my brother to drive us to your place…. That's when we found you…. He was in really bad shape when we came in…. He's still worried sick. He barely eats since we got here."

"Oh, Roxas doesn't eat much anyway. I think he might have an eating disorder, but he just tells me not to worry, that he's just not hungry. I know he lies though…."

I got Hope some water for his throat, and something to eat. We talked for another half hour or so. He's a really good kid. Now it wasn't just Roxas I wanted to help. I already felt like this kid was my own little brother. He didn't deserve to be in such a bad situation either. That's when Roxas came out of the little bathroom. Hope's eyes lit up when he saw him.

"ROXY!"

He sounded genuinely happy, seeing his elder, by roughly fifteen months. Roxas was shocked. He looked overjoyed to see his brother was ok.

"HOPE! You're awake! Are you ok? Don't EVER do that again! You scared the fucking shit out of me! You little bastard! Don't you ever do something that stupid ever again!"

Despite his insults and his yelling, Roxas was hugging his brother close, and both were crying. One with sheer relief, the other just overcome by how much his big brother loved him.

I took this as my cue to step outside and give them a minute. As soon as I stepped outside the room, I had an idea. I pulled out my cell phone and dialled my dads number on the spot.

_Please say yes, please, please, please, please, please!_

As soon as dad picked up I launched into my request. I knew I was asking for a lot, but I had to try. I just hoped my parents would understand. I asked dad to put me on loudspeaker so mom could hear too. I just hoped I could convince them…

**One Hour Later**

When I returned to the room, Roxas was sitting on the edge of hope's bed, a soft, exhausted smile on his face. He looked away from his snoozing sibling to smile at me. He was about to start another one of his thank you talks, but cut him off.

"I want you and Hope to move in with me. We've got enough space and I've called my parents and talked to them about it, you've already met them when they were here, they like you, and they have no problem with it, and if you're not paying rent you could afford to send Hope to a therapist once a week to try and make him better…."

I hadn't realised how nervous I was until half way through that little speech when my hands got all sweaty and my voice started to shake. Roxas looked shocked. He just sat there for a minute, staring at me, mouth open slightly.

"Sora…. Wow….. I couldn't take you up on that…. I mean, thank you so, so much! But I couldn't! We couldn't impose on your family like that. I couldn't just move into their house, and expect them to feed us and house us and all that. Besides, what about Hope? He can't be left alone for long… I couldn't ask you or anyone in your family to just stay home with him whenever I go out to work!"

"Actually Rox, I've thought about that. My mother is a house wife, so she's home most days. Plus, I've told you before, my house isn't far from your current one. Lightning is still only ten minutes away. We only live a little farther up that road. And I've told them the situation, they've met you, they like you, and they want to help you in any way they can. And I think this is in Hope's best interest. If he can see a therapist, maybe he'll get better."

_He has to say yes now. It's in his brothers best interest for gods sake!_

"Sora…. I dunno…. It's a lot to ask of your family…. I mean…."

"Roxas, shut up and say yes. They know the situation, they know what they're getting into by extending this offer and they still want to do it. If you do it though, you'll have to share my room and Hope can share with my brother Dylan."

"But…. But…. You and your family are insane. You people are way, way too nice….."

He was trying not to laugh, he was blushing and smiling, his eyes were bright. I knew I had him.

"Fine Sora. I'll try it. But if it's causing ye any problems then we're going."

He said yes…. He said yes! I was so happy! I couldn't believe I'd actually convinced him! Before I knew it I was hugging him. We were both crying, for what felt like the hundredth time that week. We were just so happy. I was overjoyed that he was letting me in, letting me this close to him and I knew he was happy that he finally had someone to rely on. Someone he could trust. Someone who genuinely cared about him.

_Shit…. When did I start falling in love with him…..?_


	5. Chapter 5

Authors note: Sorry for the delay in uploading! The song featured in this chapter is Gloomy Sunday by the amazing, extraordinary and inspirational Emilie Autumn 3 Hope you enjoy! :)

Sora's P.O.V.

Roxas and Hope had moved in about a week ago. Everything was going really smoothly. My family welcomed them so easily! I've never been so proud to have the parents and brothers that I have. Hope and Dylan have become really close. They get on so well together. Roxas tells me he's glad that Hope has a friend his own age like Dylan.

Like I said, things have been going so smoothly lately. During the day, dad goes off to work early in the morning. He's a lawyer so he's usually quite busy. He makes good money though so mom doesn't have to work. That's been really handy though. There's always someone here to keep an eye on Hope. Not that he needs another person around really, what with Dylan never leaving his side. Still, it was reassuring to know there was someone responsible around. Hope is enrolling in Dylan's school actually when the school year starts up again.

Roxas dropped out of school quite a while ago, and has no intentions of going back. He's adamant to keep making money so he can pay for himself and Hope. He refuses to let my parents do everything for them. His determination is quite impressive actually. He goes to the club every night he's working and sings his lungs out. He's amazing. He's actually a classically trained tenor! Well, self trained. He watches and listens to singers, and picks up their techniques himself by studying them and training himself to sing with even more ease and beauty then the very singers he mimics the techniques from. It's fascinating!

I'm still astonished how well our two families have melded together! It's hard to believe only last week I was standing outside my door with the two blonde brothers carrying what little stuff they brought with them, waiting to welcome them to their new home! Hope carried his few bags of belongings and Roxas carried a bag of clothes and the case containing his most prized possession, his violin. I've only heard him play once, but by god was it mind blowing! He played a piece he told me was called a "Largo" by Bach. My mom over heard from the hall way and cried. It was beautiful. It's hard to believe he taught himself how to play. That boy has serious musical talent.

Anyway! Enough of my ramblings about how super special awesome Roxas is, I'm starving!

Normal P.O.V.

Sora was wandering out of the kitchen, glass of milk in one hand and sandwich in the other. He was about half way up the stairs when he heard music from the living room.

_Is that Roxas? Oh… derp Sora! Who the fuck else in the house plays the violin…? I guess I am kinda slow sometimes, huh?_

Sora slowly and silently edged closer to the source of the music. Roxas was standing, facing out the large window playing the violin. He was unaware anyone else was around.

_Guess he figures I'm still asleep. I usually do sleep much later then him. And everyone else is out doing….. Something….._

The brunette listened carefully as his blonde friend played. The tune seemed quite sad, when he thought about it. Then, with blue eyes closed, the blonde teen started to sing as he played.

"Sunday is gloomy,  
My hours are slumberless  
Dearest the shadows  
I live with are numberless…"

"_Well, I was right about it being sad…" _Sora thought to himself.

"Little white flowers  
Will never awaken you  
Not where the black coach of  
sorrow has taken you"

Roxas' mood visibly darkened even further as he sang these lines. He began to sway with the music, as his violin effortlessly produced the sombre notes that flowed together with a grace only rivalled by his voice, delicately pouring out his emotions as the lyrics darkened with each passing line.

"Angels have no thoughts  
Of ever returning you  
Wouldn't they be angry  
If I thought of joining you?

...Gloomy... sunday..."

Sora's eyes began to water. He had never heard something so emotional. He had heard the blonde sing at the show, but never like this. He heard him belt, and he heard him practising impossibly complex arias with stunning vocal accuracy, but this was so raw and honest. He never wanted to hear his favourite blonde this sad, but now that he was hearing it, he couldn't bear to stop listening. He simply couldn't tear himself away. It was… mesmerizing!

"Gloomy is sunday,  
With shadows I spend in all  
My heart and I  
Have decided to end it all  
Soon there'll be flowers  
And prayers that are sad I know  
let them not weep  
Let them know that I'm glad to go  
Death is no dream  
For in death I'm caressing you  
With the last breath of my soul  
I'll be blessing you

...Gloomy... sunday..."

Once the blonde's bow had left his violin Sora was already hugging him close. A few tears had slipped from the brunette's blue eyes, and it was pretty obvious the same was happening to the equally blue eyes of the blonde.

After a while Sora composed himself enough to ask the question that had been on his mind the entire time he had been listening.

"Who was the song for?"

Roxas paused for a moment before answering the tanned boy.

"Xion. She was my best friend. I met her while we were in the asylum together. She's dead now. Axel pissed off some guy one night when he was drunk. The guy took a shot at him, but hit Xion by mistake. She died instantly."

The paler boy's face was streaked with tears again. Sora was pretty shocked.

_Asylum? Roxas never mentioned that before…_

"You were in an asylum? Why? When?"

Roxas went on to tell Sora the story of his time in the institution. His parents sent him away when he was about twelve, due to his manic depression which led to him suffering an eating disorder. He would avoid eating at all costs. He lived there for about two years before it was closed down. He and Xion stayed in contact, She even moved to the same city as him. It was an easy choice, since she had no family or anyone else to care about. When Roxas' parents were gone and he met Axel, it was only a matter of time before Xion and Axel were introduced. The two really hit it off. A relationship quickly developed between the two. The night that Xion died was the night it all fell apart for Axel. It was then that he slipped into alcohol and drug abuse, and Roxas suffered for it if he ever contradicted the red head.

Roxas could take care of himself, and was well capable of holding his own against Axel, despite the obvious size difference. The blonde was tough, but it was rare he could bring himself to hurt his only remaining friend, despite the pain he caused him.

Hearing this story, Sora was glad he had made the decision to take the blonde brothers in, and he was glad Axel hadn't made any more appearances in Roxas' life since the night they had met.

Reliving such painful memories was difficult for Roxas, and Sora knew it. He held the slightly shaking blonde closer and continued to comfort him. He had never felt more protective towards another person in his entire life. As he held the pale boy close he prayed nothing so horrible would ever happen to him again. He vowed to himself that he would do everything in his power to keep him safe from harm, and make him as happy as he could. Roxas deserved that. He'd been through more then enough. He deserved someone to care for him. Maybe even, someone to love him.


End file.
